Midwestern tycoon (and Democrat) Warren Buffet, pictured here adorably eating a Dairy Queen parfait, presented his quick and easy solution to America's debt problem today on CNBC:
"I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election."
My question is, with all the overspending and corruption going on in Washington right now, why aren't more people demanding these kind of checks and balances of their elected officials? Wisconsin and Indiana Governors are reducing the bargaining rights of the unions, which I agree with, but are they also reducing their own pensions? I assume not, and that is complete hypocrisy... and needs to change. Pensions are outdated and wasteful spending based on time in the job rather than quality of work. Teach people to save their own money using matching 401Ks and other such investments, add some bonuses in for work well done, and maybe we wouldn't be in such a fiscal mess.
Why do our elected officials get a lifetime pension (paid for by the private sector)? Maybe if these guys had to be a little bit more careful with their own retirements they'd be more careful with our tax dollars. I'd like to take Warren Buffet's idea a step further and ask why aren't there term limits on our Congressional officers? And in Idaho, our State officers? They should be nationwide. Holding political office should be a service to your country rather than a lifetime career. Maybe if they knew they only had a limited time to get things done, they'd roll up their sleeves and make things happen... putting their public's best interests ahead of their need to get re-elected? Just a thought.
George Washington, and the other "founding fathers" are probably rolling over in their graves right now... anyway...
Thanks for indulging me in my rant!
No comments:
Post a Comment